Yau Apps

YauBus privacy policy

Last updated: 2026-10-11

YauBus ("the app") is a free, ad-free app that shows bus and MTR arrival times in Hong Kong. We take your privacy seriously and follow Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486).

We do not collect personal data

The app has no accounts and no sign-in. We do not collect, store or sell any information that identifies you. The only user data sent to us is the anonymous "How full is the bus?" reports you choose to send (see below).

Location

  • The app uses your location only after you allow it, and only for features that need it: "Stops near me", the nearest MTR stations, the walking time to a stop, "Remind me to leave", "Walk me to the stop" and "Alert me to get off".
  • Your location is mostly processed on your phone, to find nearby stops, work out walking times, guide you to a stop and know when to alert you. It is never sent to us.
  • To work out real walking routes (the walking time on stop cards, "Work it out for me" and "Walk me to the stop"), the app sends your position at that moment and the stop's position to the Lands Department's pedestrian route service. Nothing else is sent with it, and it does not pass through our server. If the service cannot be reached, the app estimates from the straight-line distance instead.
  • While "Walk me to the stop" is open, the app uses your phone's compass (direction sensor) so the arrow points to the stop. These readings are used on your phone only and are never stored or sent.
  • While "Walk me to the stop" is open, it keeps guiding you when you use other apps or lock the screen, with a notification showing that it is using your location; it stops when you close it, tap "Stop guiding" in the notification, or reach the stop. It also uses your phone's motion sensor to tell whether the phone is lying still, so a wandering GPS reading does not move you on the map. These readings are used on your phone only and are never stored or sent.
  • The get-off alert stops using your location when you arrive; "Walk me to the stop" stops when you close it. You can turn off location access at any time in your phone's settings.

Data stored on your phone

Your saved stops, reminders and settings are stored on your phone and never sent to us. If you have turned on Android backup, Android may include them in your own Google account's backup, so a new phone can restore them. Uninstalling the app deletes them from the phone.

Network connections

The app connects to:

  1. Our server, to download bus routes, stops and fares. Our server does not log your IP address or anything else that identifies you.
  2. The Hong Kong Government's open data services (DATA.GOV.HK), for live bus arrival times and MTR and Light Rail next train times. These requests contain only route, stop or MTR station codes, no personal data.
  3. The Lands Department's map service, for map data. These requests contain only the map area on screen, not your location marker or any personal data.
  4. The Lands Department's pedestrian route service, for walking routes (see "Location" above). These requests contain only the start and the stop's position.
  5. The Hong Kong Observatory's open data, for the weather and weather warnings. These requests contain no personal data.

These government services are covered by their providers' own privacy policies. If you tap "Directions in Google Maps", your phone opens Google Maps and gives it the stop's location; from then on Google's privacy policy applies. If the MTR has special arrangements and you tap "Open the MTR website", your phone opens the MTR's web page; from then on the MTR's privacy policy applies.

If you tap "Call" to contact a bus company or the MTR, your phone's dialler opens with the company's number filled in; the app does not make the call and does not see it. "Report online" opens the company's own web page; from then on its privacy policy applies.

"How full is the bus?" reports

  • You can choose to tell other riders how full a bus is (seats free, standing room, or very full). This is optional; the app works fully without it.
  • A report contains only the route, the stop's place on the route, the level you chose and, on a double-decker with seats free, which deck has them. It contains no location, account, device ID or anything else that identifies you.
  • Reports are kept only in our server's memory and deleted after 30 minutes. They are never written to disk or to logs.
  • To stop anyone flooding the reports, the server turns your IP address into a code that cannot be reversed, using a secret that changes every day, and keeps that code in memory for at most 10 minutes. Your IP address itself is never stored or logged.
  • Other users see only the combined result, for example "Riders say: Standing room (5 min ago)".

No ads, analytics or tracking

The app contains no ads, uses no analytics or tracking tools, and shares no data with third parties. If you have chosen in your Android settings to share usage and diagnostics with Google, Google may receive anonymous crash reports, which are covered by Google's privacy policy.

Children

The app is suitable for all ages and does not collect personal data from children.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date above.

Contact us

Questions about this policy: support@yauapps.com.

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